Issue: What are the penalties for operating a grow house in Florida? Fact: If you own or live in a home for the purpose of growing marijuana, you are facing very serious charges. You will need an attorney and law firm with experience handling Marijuana Grow House cases. A bill was recently introduced in Southwest Florida to combat the growing problem of marijuana farms in Florida. House Bill 173, the Marijuana Grow House Eradication Act, has won approval from the House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety. This bill includes penalties for people who grow 25 or more plants and for those who own or simply live in a home for the purpose of growing marijuana. With the new laws in place, any arrest of more than 25 plants will be treated as a criminal offense with a minimum prison sentence. The sanctions become more severe when there is a child in the family unit. In order for law enforcement to have enough evidence space for other cases, they are unable to destroy the greenhouse equipment immediately after the investigation is completed. With this drastic increase in marijuana cultivation a multi-agency drug task force has been implemented as HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) working alongside the National Office of Drug Control Policy to stop the operations hydroponics. Grow houses grow marijuana plants using hydroponic methods. With these methods it allows operators to grow marijuana plants with higher THC levels than the typical outdoor plant. High-tech hydroponic operations use little or no sunlight and stimulate sunlight using high-intensity heat lamps and also use irrigation systems with water and chemical fertilizers. These operations usually use a specially designed time… paper medium… a filled substance intended for sale or distribution to another. Anyone who violates this paragraph commits a second degree crime, punishable pursuant to art. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.7. (3) A person who is in actual or contrived possession of a place, structure, trailer, or conveyance with knowledge that the place, structure, trailer, or conveyance is being used to manufacture a controlled substance for sale or distribution to others and anyone who knew or should have known that a minor is present or resides in the place, structure, trailer or means of transportation commits a crime of the first degree, punishable pursuant to art. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.8. (4) For the purposes of this section, evidence of possession of 25 or more cannabis plants constitutes prima facie evidence that the cannabis is intended for sale or distribution.